ABSTRACT
Saponins are the secondary metabolites with a peculiar foaming character. They are widely distributed among angiospermic plants, small aquatic fauna, and some microorganisms. Chemically, saponin is an amphillic substance wherein a sugar moiety is associated with an apolar entity which can either be a sterol or a triterpene. Saponins are considered as anti-nutritional factors. For this purpose, foods containing saponins are subjected to different processing techniques to reduce the level of saponins. But their role as natural therapeutic agents due to their health promoting properties in traditional medicine cannot be neglected. Therefore, it is important to study this class of phytochemicals so as to identify toxicity threshold of saponin compounds and side effects associated with the long term consumption of such substances because of their widespread distribution in the ecosystem.
